WELCOME to Pharmacy Daily's weekly comment feature. This week's contributor is Catherine Koetz, Director - Healthcare, GS1 Australia
Product ID & safety through technology
The accurate identification of products is critical for patient safety and efficient supply chain management. Enhancing that further, the use of 2D barcode technologies means that not only can you identify products, but also add the Expiry and Batch information, making inventory management easier.
GS1 DataMatrix is the preferred choice for product identification and traceability purposes within healthcare globally and has been regulated for use on medicines as an enabler of future traceability.
One of the advantages of GS1 DataMatrix is its small footprint, allowing vital product information to be encoded within limited space. We often say the focus is counterfeit products, but GS1 DataMatrix plays a significant role every day by helping reduce the waste due to expired products.
Having this kind of information available in a single scan helps prevent patients and consumers from potentially harmful consequences.
Future applications will also enable eLeaflets and instructions for use to be accessible from the same barcode, so as technology advances and regulations evolve, 2D barcode capability becomes crucial to a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
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